Papa Isio

Dionisio Magbuelas (20 March 1846-1911), also known as Papa Isio, was the founder of the Negros Republic during the Philippine-American War.

Biography
Dionisio Magbuelas was born to an indigenous family in Negros Occidental, Philippines in 1846. He worked as a cattle herder before being forced into hiding in 1880 after having a scuffle with a Spanish officer, and he adopted the title "Papa Isio" as a repudiation of the Pope and Catholic Church's authority. He fused agrarian reform with nationalism and became a leader of the anti-Spanish resistance during the Philippine Revolution, and he later went on to lead resistance against the American occupiers during the Philippine-American War. He did not surrender until 6 August 1907, when he was finally cornered by government forces. His death sentence was commuted to life imprisonment, and he died in Bilibid Prison in 1911 at the age of 65.